Improvement in sewing-machines for working button-holes



J. EMERSON. SEWING MAGHINE FOB WORKING BUTTO-NHOLES.&.-

No. 50,989. Patented Nov. 14, 1865.

UNrrnn Starts arena JAMES EMERSON, OF LOWELL, MASSAUHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND CHAS. D. MCDONALD, 0F ELLSWORTH', MAINE.

IMPROVEMENI lN SEWlNG-M'ACHJNES FOR WORKING BUTTON-HOLES, dc.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. ii,989, dated November 14, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES EMERSON, of Lowell, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Machine for Sewing or Worki-ngButton- Holes, the nature of which consists in so constructing a machine that it passes the needle and thread through the clothin the same manner and making the same stitch as made by hand for that purpose, using a short thread long enough for one button-hole only, the needle being straight, pointed at one end, and two eyes near the middle of it; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

. and exact description ofthe machine, reference being had to the annexed. drawings, making a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the machine. Fig. 2 is aplan as it would appear if looking down upon it, supposing the circular table B and feed-plate G to be transparent. Figs. 3, 4,5, 6, T, and 8 are sections necessary to the explanation.

The table A and the legs 9 are made of castiron, the braces 11 and 14. being cast to the legs, the parts 10, 12, and 13 being cast to the table, 15 and 16 being secured to the table by screws. The driving-wheel U at the right is keyed to the end of the shaft T, which has its hearings in the legs. On this shaft the cams A, B, U, D, ahd E are firmly secured in the positions shown in Fig. 1. The full lines show the front, the dotted. lines the back, of these cams. WVhere there are no dotted lines the opposite sides of the cams are alike. Gain A op crates the lever S, the upper end of which is connected to the circular table B, giving it a reciprocatingmotion from left to right.

(Jam B operates the T-shaped lever F, the end of the longer arm of which is connected to v the needle-carrier E by the connecting-rod B.

7 Cam 0 operates the lever I, which is forked at the top, the fork being placed astride of the looper G in an annular recess, the looper being moved by the lever endwise from and toward the needle, according to the position of the cam.

Cam D operates the lever B, whose rightangled arm raises or pulls down the rod K,which is connected to the segment-gears, on theright of its center instead of the left, as shown in Fig.

5. As the rightot' this gear is raisedit moves to the left the bottom of the small gear b, which is placed upon the rear end of the looper G, rotating the looper from its position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shownin Fig. 1-. Reverse the movement, and the looper returns to its first position. These gears 11 and b are shown in Fig. 1 in transverse sections, and are inclosed within the upright case marked 15. The gear b has a hub on its right side, on which it rotates, and a square hole through its center, in which the rear end of the looper Gr slides freely.

Gain E operates the lever M,giviugits horizontal arm extending to the left an lip-auddown motion. This arm, as shown in Fig.1, is curved in the arc of a circle, whose radius is equal to the length of the connecting-rod L. There is a slot of the same curvature in this lever extending from its extreme lefttwo-. thirds of its length. The lower end of the rod Lis connected to the lever M by a pin through the slot.

0n the side of the leverM. in permanent bearings, is placed the screw N, which has a ratchet-head, into which works the pawl Q. This pawl isfastened to the underside of the table, and as the lever M rises, as hereinafter stated, the teeth of the ratchet, coming into contact therewith, are acted upon by it, causing the ratchet to rotate intermittently. On this screw is placed the half-nutP, working in hearings on the lower end of the sliding rod O, which is arranged to slide in the loops or guides r r on the side of the connectiugrod L, as shown in Fig. 1. 0n the rod 0, between the guides, there is placed a spiral spring, the upper end of which presses against the upper guide, the lower end against a shoulder on the rod 0 above the lower guide, thus holding the nut P onto the screw N, but allowing it to be raised when necessary.

The top of the rod L is connected to the car rier-arm D, as shown in Fig. 1. As the screw N is rotated it carries the nut P and the lower end of the rod L to the right, or nearer the fulcrum of the lever M, thus shortening the movement of the arm 1) each stitch as the thread is used up.

To the top of the T-sha-ped lever F is connected the right end of the rod J, the left end of the rod being connected to the slide X, all

as shown in Fig. 1. On the back side of the slide X is secured the pawl m, (seenin Fig. 2,) which acts in the teeth of the ratchet-wheel Z on the lower end of the shaft Y as the slide X is moved forward, but slipping over the teeth as the slide returns, giving the shaft Y an intermittent rotation. This 'shait has an upper hearing in the plate of table B and'a lower bearin gin a thin plate attached to the lower part of the said-table under the ratchet '2, (shown by dotted'lines through the slide X in Fig. 1,) so that the ratchet Z, shaft Y, with their connections above, all move with the table.

' On the shaft Y, under the plate of the table B, is secured the gear b, which connects with the gear a by the intermediategear, d. The gear cis coupled to the pinion-gear f above theitable by the shaft n, as shown in Fig. 1.

Pinion f operates theirregular gear g. A section of this gear can be seen each side of the hollow stud o in Fig.1, and a plan in Fig. 2. This gear is a thin piece of metal, made in the shape of a button-hole, having teeth upon its edge, except at the smaller end, and it works around the hollow stud 0 on the center of the table B. As the top arm of the lever F gives motion to the rod J, the latter, through, the slide X, operates the pawl m and rotates the ratchet Z, giving motion to the pinion f through the gears b d 0, moving the irregular gearp in a. line or circle, according to its position at the time. Fast to this gear is the plate 0, on which the work is secured by the plate shown in Fig. 6. This'plate is se ured by placing it above thepla'te 0, putting the hole 70 in plate 6 down on the button k in plate U, (shown in Fig. 7,) and turning the button at right anglesv with the hole in plate 6. The

top of the pin 11 in plate 0 will enter the hole t'inplate 6 and keep the plate from turning.

The lower end of the pin t projects down below the plate 0. (See Fig. 7.) This projection enters the channel j iii't'able B, and as the plateO is moved by the gears the pin follows the channel across the table. As it arrives at the edge to the right the inside of the round end of the gear 9 comes to the stud 0, around which it turns, the pin 6 passing half-way around the outer edge of the table nntilit comes to the channel j onthe left side of the table, where it enters and follows the channel toward the center. The plates 0 and 6 have an opening the'form of a button-hole, the size shown in plate 6, (marked 9.) The hole in the cloth is placed over this hole in the plates,

the cloth projecting snfiicient for the depth of the stitch. To change the length of stitch,

shitu the rear end of the rod J to either of the series of holes shown in the upper arm of the T-shaped lever F. The same arrangement maybe applied to the lever. S to change the depth of stitch.

' The lower carrier, E, is a cylindrical piece of steel sliding vertically in the tubular way 13.

This way projects both above and below the table A. In the upperend ofihe carrier there i the upper carrier, D, may take it, all, as. shown in'Fig. '1". Y t I The upper carrier is-t-he outer end of the arm. D, made like thelower carrier reversed but the spring 1) holds the needle at all times unless released by raising the end of the lever w. This lever is formed as shown by the dotted :lines in Fig. 1. It has a right-angled arm extending across the carrier D under the spring t, the part under the spring being "square, so

that when the lever is raised it tnrusthe outside upper corner against the inside of the spring, withdrawing its point from the needle, so that the lower carrier may takeit. The lever is raised by striking down on the supportingpiece 18; but the moment the arm D rises sufti'ciently to clear the end ofthe lever from the piece 18 the point of the spring catches the .needle and holdsit until the arm makes its movement and returns to the position shown in Fig. 1. In this arrangement an attempt is made to imitatethe movements of the human arm while sewing, the arrangement of the halfnut P and the screw N shortening the movement of the arm D each stitch as the thread is used up, as the movement of the arm is shortened in hand-sewing; but the movementof the arm 1) isonly to be shortened one-half the length of thread used each stitch, so that the thread slips through the eyes of the needle the other half, thus being nearly the whole length of the thread, as in hand-sewing. The pawl'q may be thrown out of the ratchet-head of the screwN if the movement of the arm isshortened too fast.

- The looper G, as shown in Fig. l, is forked more than half its length, one prong being a an open space back of the projection between the prongs of the looper for the thread to pass freely. 0n the outside of the other pron g of the looper there is a bump that fits into a recess on the inside of the holder V. This recess is on the right-hand side of the holder, but is shown above the looper in Fig. 1,.and the hump before named is shown on the under side of the looper below the recess. It will be seen if the looper was rotated one-half turn, the bump on the looper would enter the recess in the holder and the prongs ofthe looper would open. The recess only goes part the length of the holder, so that if the hump on the looperis pushed for ward of the recess the looper remains closed while it is rotated.

The braces 17 and 18 support the segment W. This segment is made of wood, with a plate of brass on one side, which acts asa guide for the arm D, as seen in Fig 8. In the top of the segment there is a ii-shaped groove, the bottom of which should be smooth. Each side of this groove should be lined with soft cloth touching together at the bottom; but the cloth should not quite touch the bottom of the groove. As the arm D pulls up the needle and'thread the thread is drawn down to the bottom of the groove, and as the needle returns the cloth sides of the groove hold the thread suficiently to' prevent it from kinking.

Operation: Place the button-hole on plateG and secure the cloth by the plate 6, as before described; place the gear gover the hollow stud 0 bring the narrow end of the button-hole abreast of the needle, the round end of the button-hole toward the operator, the piuiin the channel j thread the needle through both eyes,

and knot the end of the thread the same as for hand-sewi|ig;'put the needle in, the carrier D,

the point up; turn thewheel U. The needle will go down through the bottom-hole, cam A will move the table B to the left, bringing the edge of the cloth over the point of the needle, which will pass up through it into carrier D, which will catch and draw up the needle and thread the same as would be done by hand. As the thread is drawn up the looper springs forward astridejof the thread, the Qshaped projection passing the thread, as shown in Fig.

4. The prongs of the looper then ciose, the looperisthen drawn backward, leaving the thread in the form of the letter Li around the CI-shaped projection of the looper. Asthe carrier l) retnrns'the .looper makes three-fourths ofa revolution, the til-shaped loop of the thread 7 being changed to the form of the letter (it around the G-shaped projection of the looper, the looper then being in the position shown in Fig. l, theneedle going down past the end of the looper through the button-hole, as at first.

'lablc B and the point of the looper move to the left. The needle then comes up through the cloth and the end of the looper, as seen in Fig. 3, theO-shaped loop of the thread being still around the projection of the looper, as represented in Fig; l. The needle,of course, comes up through that. This loop, when the thread is drawn up, forms the same stitch as is made by hand to make button-holes. As the car- .rier E goes down with the needle the vibration of the short upper arm of the lever F operates the ratchet Z, feeding the irregular gear 9 to the rear the proper length for the next stitch. After working around the button-hole, take the needle from the upper carrier and secure the end of the thread and button-hole by handsewing. When commencing a buttou-holehave the half-nut P at the extreme left of the lever M, to give the arm D a full-length movement.

What I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. The arrangement of the screw"l\ and halfnnt P on-the lever M, when constructed substantially as described, for the purpose of equalizing the movement of the arm D with the loss of thread each stitch.

2. The looper G, when constructed substantially as described, for making a loop in the thread, so that by passing the needle through it, as described, the hand button-hole stitch is produced.

3. The method of feeding the'work to the needle by the irregular gearg, made in the form of a button-hole, in combination with suitable device for passing the needle entirely through the cloth and then through the button-hole, as inhand-sewing.

a. The lateral motion of the table B, in combination with the arrangement of the needlesubstantially as described.

5. The segment YV, when made with a V- shaped groove the sides of which are lined with cloth to prevent the thread from kinking:

JAMES EMERSON.

Witnesses:

JENNIE S. ABBOTT hlnr'rrr: A. Boss. 

